Tips for Waiters Serving Large Crowds Fast

Being a waiter requires much more than having an amiable personality, knowledge of food-related issues and a professional attitude. You also need to know how to serve people as quickly as possible. Reducing the time it takes to serve people may be even more daunting if the crowds are massive. You need to develop a strategy that would help you cut down on the time spent. Here are tips you may use to serve large crowds fast.

Memorize the Menu

You should know the options your customers have when ordering food. Many diners trust the word of the waiter when they want to order food, especially if the restaurant or menu is alien to them. It would be difficult to recommend a specific dish if you have no idea about the contents of the menu. You may have to know the category of dishes such as the appetizer, main dish and dessert. The names of dishes should come to you naturally without consulting the printed menu.

Know the Wine List

Knowing the wine list will come handy when you serve large crowds. You may waste time if you have to check the availability of wine each time a customer makes an order. In addition, you should know how to pronounce the names of the wines. Some of the brands may have foreign names that may be hard to pronounce for an English speaker. Your clients will consider you professional if you are able to pronounce foreign wine names correctly.

Suggest a Bottle for the Table

Rather than serve individual glasses, you should suggest having a bottle for each table. In this way, you will not have to be at every table to pour a drink; instead, you may only appear when necessary. You will be able to serve more people, although the bill may decrease compared to when serving individual glasses.

Write Orders Down

Despite having the ability to memorize orders, serving large crowds may pose a challenge. Your attempt to put the orders in memory may be impressive to some of the diners, but they may quickly consider you unprofessional if you forget their order and bring the wrong dish or wine. The action of writing down orders also reassures your customers that you will remember their order, and it minimizes the risk of misunderstanding between you and the diners.

Clear Empty Bottles and Plates Quickly

Clear the tables as soon as diners finish eating and drinking in order to provide space for the crowd to engage in other activities. They will have more room and a cleaner place to socialize. You should do so without disturbing the group with your presence.

Take Your Time

Understandably, you may feel the urge to do things in a rush. If you appear to be in a hurry, your customers will become uneasy with your service. The possibility of messing things up by dropping things and bumping into people may increase.

Conclusion

Waiters can quickly serve large groups of people if they adopt these ideas. If you follow the tips properly, you may appear more professional, and you may become more efficient in your job.